Is Mujeeb Ur Rahman playing: Afghanistan need to win their last Super 12 match to keep India’s qualifying chances alive.
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During the 40th match of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup 2021 between New Zealand and Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan captain Mohammad Nabi has won the toss and chose to bat in their last Super 12 match.
“We will bat first. It was a night game in Abu Dhabi, so we bowled first considering the dew factor. It’s a day game, so we want to post a decent total on the board. We will try our best and try to win,” Nabi said at the toss.
Having won and lost two matches each in the tournament, Afghanistan need to win this match in order to be in contention for qualifying to the next round. A loss for them will automatically push New Zealand to the next round; also eliminating India from the World Cup.
Much like Nabi, New Zealand captain Kane Williamson also wanted to bat first at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. In what is a crucial match for them as well, New Zealand haven’t tinkered with their Playing XI.
“We were going to have a bat as well, it’s a used surface. I think both sides have match winners and it’s a mix of youth and experience. We are playing with the same team, no changes,” Williamson said.
Is Mujeeb Ur Rahman playing vs New Zealand?
As far as Afghanistan are concerned, they have made a change to their Playing XI by bringing in spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman for Sharafuddin. Rahman, who had missed the last two matches due to an injury, had given enough hints of regaining fitness on the eve of this match.
The inclusion of a potent spinner in Rahman should aid Afghanistan in putting on display a better fight against a much-stronger New Zealand side.
